Florida waters, like those everywhere, lack private property
rights and thereby suffer great damage. Overharvesting, which results
from soggy socialism's "tragedy of the commons" is particularly pronounced
in sponging. http://rexcurry.net/tagfish1a.jpg

There are few things besides natural sponges that are
harvested at one-fifth of their pre-World War II level. In
the 1930’s, sponging was the number one industry in the Bahamas, and probably
in Key West, Florida. Machinery improvements and better farming techniques
result in higher productions of most commodities, but not natural sponges.
"Public" (state) ownership of submerged lands has long defeated sponge aquaculture
and other undersea farming along with its abundant ecology. http://rexcurry.net/sponges.html

For example, when a hook is used to tear a sponge from
the bottom, some material is left attached to the bottom to grow back.
This occurs about one-third of the time. If a sponge is cut from the
bottom instead of torn, it has been discovered that a sponge will grow back
two-thirds of the time. The lack of ownership in sponge beds means
spongers have reduced opportunities to make such discoveries, and equally
slight incentive to exert effort implementing them. Public officials
and other experts have even less incentive. Under soggy socialism,
success is measured by how quickly a sponger can find and raid dwindling
sponge beds, not by one's success at increasing sponge size or reproduction.
http://rexcurry.net/earthcharter.html

As is often the case, capitalism has provided an answer
to the environmental destruction caused by central planning. Socialism's
ruiness effect on natural sponges was the catalyst for market substitutes:
artificial sponges. Due to collectivism, natural sponges are now oddities,
and artificial sponges are better, commonplace, cheap and come in greater
varieties and sizes than Mother Nature can produce. Thanks to capitalism,
the demand for natural sponges is now slight where socialism caused, and
still causes, overharvesting.

Imagine if defenders of "common ownership" of water
and natural sponges applied their logic consistently to achieve common
ownership of artificial sponges. The same disaster would result.
Everyone would grab as many of the publicly owned artificial sponges as
possible. Owners of artificial sponge material and equipment
would stop making sponges and find other work, while jobs in the industry
would end just as jobs in natural sponging disappeared. Actual violence
would break out in efforts to control the artificial sponge market, just
as violence ruled the "commonly owned" natural sponge beds of Key West
and Tarpon Springs, Florida, as dramatized in the movie "The Twelve Mile
Reef."

As shortages of artificial sponges grew, public officials
would pass more and more regulations and controls such as they have in banning
sponge diving in the Florida keys and phasing out harvesting in Biscayne
Bay.

Of course, officials would never comprehend that they
bankrupted the artificial sponge industry, just as no socialist government
has ever conceded causing shortages of natural sponges, nor food, clothing,
housing or anything. Proponents of such policies will not publicly
debate them with advocates of free market economics and private property
rights. http://rexcurry.net/tagturtle1a.jpg

The socialist dogma is the same dogma that was touted in the
late 19th century by National Socialists in the USA. Francis Bellamy (author
of the "Pledge of Allegiance") and his cousin and cohort Edward Bellamy (author
of the pathetic book "Looking Backward") wanted the government to take over
all food, clothing, shelter, goods and services and create an "industrial
army" to impose their "military socialism." See the video documentary at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BssWWZ3XEe4

That was the motiviation behind the "Pledge of Allegiance" to the flag,
the origin of the stiff-armed salute adopted later by the National Socialist
German Workers Party (see the work of the historian Dr. Rex Curry, author
of "Pledge of Allegiance Secrets"). http://rexcurry.net/pledge-allegiance-pledge-allegiance2.jpg

It is the same dogma that led to the socialist Wholecaust (of which the
Holocaust was a part): ~60 million killed under the former Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics; ~50 million under the Peoples' Republic of China;
~20 million under the National Socialist German Workers' Party. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.html

The environment will be made safer by reducing government
until undersea socialism (and all socialism) ends. As Libertarians
and Objectivists say, there is no reason why free enterprise and private
property rights should stop at the water's edge. The color of a healthy
environment and the color of money are the same. Capitalists are the
true "greens" of the environmental movement, and only private property rights
can give natural sponging a chance to survive and thrive.

...........................

RexCurry.net is the history-making, news-breaking website that archives
the work of the lawyer, author, and instructor. A sixth-generation Floridian
and a life-long resident, Dr. Curry has predecessors who helped settle and
develop the Bahamas and Key West when government there was nearly non-existent. The
Curry family has lived in Florida since before 1857. The Curry Mansion (home
of Florida’s first millionaire capitalist) is on Key West's local tour
and you can stay there on visits http://rexcurry.net/curry-mansion.html
and try to see Curry Key near the Everglades at the south end of Florida.
Also, visit the Currys in the Bahama Islands and on Curry Key there http://rexcurry.net/curry-bahamas.html
Also visit Curry Lake in central Florida. http://rexcurry.net/Curry-Lake.html